The History of the Jews of Stanislav {Cont.}

This school was to be supervised by two teachers and a principal (Oberlehrer).
However, in reality, only one teacher worked there, Yankel Reinberg, whose
salary was 200 Florin annually. After a while, Kupferfeld the nephew of Aharon
Fridental, who ran the teacher's seminary in Lvov, also worked as a teacher.
However he was forced to change his place of employment due to a complaint from
Hertz Homberg. There were ten schools set up in the region of Stanislav. These
were: in Tysmienica (the teacher was Hershel Shulman), Bohorodczany (Meir
Shmelka), Tlumacz, Kolomyya, Jablonow, Kosow, Kuty (Yaakov Karpels), Obertin,
Nadworna (Hershel Tubach), Mariampol, Monastzyrika (Yaakov Karmes)[28]. If
this ordinance regarding schools was difficult, another ordinance was issued on
February 17, 1788 that added to the difficulties. This ordinance made the army
draft compulsory. Despite the support of the Lvov community that promised 15
Florin to each Jewish recruit, and despite the patriotic speeches of the rabbis
and encouragement of the communal leaders, Jewish men did not present
themselves for enlistment. Rather, they preferred to escape to Poland or to
Wallachia-Moldavia. In Stanislav, the community withstood one additional
measure: the declaration that it was appropriate to pay a fine of 150 ducats
for each person drafted. However, none of this helped. In 1790, 1,060 Jews of
Galicia were enlisted. Only Kaiser Leopold II agreed on August 26, 1790 to
repeal the law of the draft in return for a payment of 30 guilder from each
person required to be drafted, after the government became accustomed to the
fact that the Jews did not want to enlist. This situation continued until 1804.

With regard to the tax situation during that time, all types of low characters
arose on the scene who attempted to profit from the difficulties of their
brethren. In Stanislav as well there was a man who attempted to offer various
pieces of advice to the government to raise the yoke of taxes, with the aim of
filling his own pockets. This man was Shlomo Kopler[29], who turned to the
government in 1795 with a request to lease the tolerance tax and living tax
(Domestikalsteuer). However the government rejected his request[30]. Kopler
was the local lessee of the drink tax in Stanislav, and did not live in peace
with the city council. In 1796, delegates of the city council turned to the
government with a request to arrest him by the political leaders and to force
him to discharge his debt of 3,665 Florin owed to the city council[31].
Already in 1795 he recommended to eliminate the tolerance tax, and replace it
with a special tax for permission to light Sabbath candles[32]. He advised the
government to give over to him, along with his partner Tovia Steinsberg, the
tax of Eastern Galicia in return for lease fees of 194,409 Florin annually.
Hertz Homberg, as an expert in Jewish matters, advised the government regarding
this issue. As was later discovered, Kopler promised him a profit of 2% of the
income for this recommendation.

[Page 22]

His recommendation was accepted by the government, and the candle tax was
implemented starting from November 11, 1797. This began a new chapter in the
oppression of the masses of Jewish people in Galicia. Shlomo Kopler and his
associates excelled in their cruelty without bounds. The
Lichtfechter became a symbol of pillage, theft, and cruelty. The
Jews fought it bitterly until the revolution of 1848. Kopler did not satisfy
himself with Galicia. On April 23, 1796, he attempted to lease these taxes as
well in the new area of Poland that was annexed to Galicia in the third
partition[33]. In September 1796, Shlomo Kopler, along with Ignace Kreter and
other partners[34] already formed a business, a business that was engraved
with the tears and blood of the Jews of Galicia.

Kopler had constant disputes with the members of the community of Stanislav,
and it is no wonder that they complained about him to the authorities endless
times. His manner during that time was to become mixed up in everything. There
was no matter in which his hands were not involved. The pinnacle of the
intrigue was in 1796. Then, the heads of the community approached the
government with accusations against Kopler that he was involved with taking of
bribes. That year, the rabbi of Stanislav and its environs, the head of the
rabbinical court Reb Avraham Leibish Halevi Ish Horowitz was invited to the
rabbinate of Pressburg. Kopler wanted that another rabbi be appointed if Rabbi
Horowitz was to answer the call to Pressburg or were to leave Stanislav for a
long period. He also desired that their dispute regarding the shochet  of
which there were two candidates: Berel Gelber and another  should be
decided in accordance with his wishes. However he did not succeed that time,
for the government issued a directive that the choosing of a new rabbi should
proceed in accordance with the set procedures, and that the matter of the
shochet should be decided by a majority of votes in the community. Kopler was
required to repay all of the expenditures that were illegally caused by him and
also to discharge various debts whose payment had been pushed off numerous
times. The government was required to request from the officials appointed over
Jewish matters to fulfill their obligations, particularly with regard to the
production of a list of tax payers by category, and they were also required to
collect the taxes that had yet to be collected[35].

However, Kopler was not quiet. He plotted to bring new tribulations to his
fellow Jews. He offered new recommendations to re-establish the tolerance tax,
and he traveled to Vienna for this purpose[36]. Before long, in 1798, new
intrigues broke out in the community of Stanislav. A large number of residents
issued complaints against the lessees of kosher meat and the lessees of the
candle tax. The lessees of kosher meat were liquidated in February by the
regional government[37]. However, with regards to the complaint against the
lessees of the candle tax, who collected the tax in an inappropriate manner,
the government answered that they would demand of the supervisors of the candle
tax  Shlomo Kopler, Krater and their partners  that they provide
proper receipts from that time and on[38]. These disturbances became a daily
issue during that time in all communities of Galicia. This is one of the
gloomiest chapters in the history of the Jews of Galicia until the middle of
the 19th century.

The tax burden grew year by year, and oppressed the Jews of Stanislav to such a
degree that their representatives decided in 1811 to turn to the cabinet in
Vienna with a request to discharge the debt that had accumulated from the meat
and Sabbath candle taxes with government promissory notes[39], for they were
not able to discharge it with ready cash at one time.

[Page 23]

That year, they enumerated in Stanislav and its region 2,984 Jewish families
consisting of 13,673 souls, of whom 6,780 were men and 6,703 were women[40].
Aside from these, there were 28 Karaite[8*] families in the Stanislav region:
26 families in Halicz (55 men and 64 women) and in Dobowcza 2 families (2 men
and 3 women). In Stanislav itself that year there lived 667 Jewish families
consisting of 3,392 souls, including 1,966 men and 1,426 women. The economic
situation at that time was very difficult. Indeed certain segments of the
Jewish population earned a livelihood and established a firm economic base,
however most of the population lived under difficult conditions and suffered
from the lack of the necessary means to sustain their small businesses. To deal
with the difficult situation of the poor people, in 1818 Rabbi Eliahu the son
of Shlomo of Bursztyn the preacher, who lived at that time in Stanislav, began
to establish charitable organizations for granting of loans and providing
for guests. He did not satisfy himself with his own community, but he
also visited other cities and towns and arranged collections to set up such
institutions, which were set up in a cooperative basis. Rabbi Aryeh Leibish
Horowitz fully understood this idea, and he issued a letter of approbation, in
the following language: Indeed, the proper way has always been for the
rich to offer assistance[9*]; indeed it was always his manner to set up
charitable organizations for the benefit of the poor in every city and town.
The hand of G-d was with Eliahu the elder Rabbanite[10*] the bearer of this
letter. Whoever has the means should contribute to the fund, and collect to
help the Jewish people, and give with a generous hand to the community. His
mouth is upright, and he does not tire until he finds the strength to actualize
this for the merit of the many and set up such groups. The man Eliahu came to
us, he does not rest and keep his peace until he collects the sum of 600
Reinish. Whoever is close to this idea in any place should come and plant figs,
so they may eat of the fruit. A distribution will be given to those who lack.
Etc. Anyone who does this fulfills a mitzvah, so that people will be able to
provide for their families. I bless him that he should be satisfied in his
house, and that his heart should be strengthened, so that he does not return
from the work that G-d inspired in his heart. By law, he should be able to
obtain his reward in this world and the World to Come, and anyone who assists
him will be blessed with great blessing. I speak with honor toward this
endeavor[41].

Rabbi Eliahu of Bursztyn set up the first group with the sum of 500 Florin that
he collected from the people of the city. In a meeting regarding this matter,
he spoke about the need to found a charitable organization. In the charter of
the organization it was stated explicitly that the money must only be used for
the needs of the poor, and not for any other charity, not even for the
providing for poor brides or the redemption of captives. The organization
issued interest free loans of the sum of 50 or 100 Guilder in exchange for
security or for documents. These were to be paid back with bi-weekly payments
for the duration of one year.

[Page 24]

Poor people who were not able to give a security were issued loans of up to 3
Florin if two communal members served as guarantors. After they paid back the
loans, they were issued credit for up to 18 Florin.

This organization was one of the first of its kind in Galicia. Its founder,
equipped with approbations from great rabbis, visited the cities of Voynilov,
Sienawa, Przemysl, Lezajsk, Rudniki, Dolina, Bolshovtzy, Zhidachov, Jar,
Tysmienica, Rzeszow, Dobromil, Bobrka, Tyczyn, Dynow, etc. and preached to
communal gatherings about the idea of founding charitable organizations with
the aim of improving the economic situation of the Jewish masses. He himself
collected the sums of money from the wealthy people in the cities, and
established the charitable funds.

C.

With regard to the internal life of the community of Stanislav, no great
changes took lace during the time of the Austrian conquest at the end of the
18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century. Of course, a large part
of the government activities regarding the Jews consisted of overseeing the
communities. During this period the government was interested that the heads of
the communities should be people who are faithfully disposed to the government,
therefore they became involved in every minute detail. From among the rabbis
who served on the rabbinical chair, we are aware of:

a)

Rabbi Yosef the son of Menashe, who died in Stanislav in the year 5459
(1699)[42].

b)

Rabbi Aryeh Leibish the son of Mordechai Auerbach, the uncle and rabbi of
Rabbi Meir Margolis, was accepted as a rabbi in Stanislav in the year 1740,
served there in the rabbinate until 1750, and died in Stanislav.

c)

Rabbi Levi the son of Shlomo Ashkenazi (1680-1752) fro Zalukva, the author
of the books Beit Halevi (essays on various Talmudic tractates,
Zalukva, 1732) and Ateret Shlomo (Zalukva 1735). He died in
Stanislav in the year 1752[43].

d)

Rabbi Dov Berish the son of Rabbi Yaakov Avraham of Kovel (the son-in-law of
Rabbi Menachem Manis Ish Horowitz, the head of the rabbinical court of Zmigrod
and later Lvov). He was the rabbi in Stanislav during the fateful days of
Polish Jewry as it struggled against Sabbataism and Frankism[11*]. It seems
that even before he was chosen as the rabbi of the community, he played an
active role in its communal life. He was elected as one of the communal
trustees in 1743. We gave honor to the Rabbanite leader Rabbi Dov the son
of Rabbi Yaakov Avraham, etc., by getting him involved in every great matter[44].

[Page 25]

In the interim, he was also chosen as a regional leader. In this office, we
find his signature in a certificate from the Council of Four Lands during a
meeting in Konstantyn on Rosh Chodesh Av 5516 (1756), as follows: The
small one[12*] Dov Berish of Koveli who dwells in the community of Stanislav
and it region. This meeting was regarding the printer Mazolcbach who
transgressed the words of the scholars of the generation by publishing an
edition of the Six Orders[13*], thereby encroaching on the rights of the
printers in Amsterdam[45]. He also signed the decision of the Council of Four
Lands regarding the community of Kaczienec, that it should belong to our
community of Pinczow. He was chosen to be the rabbi of the community of
Stanislav, apparently in 1752, after the death of Rabbi Levi the son of Shlomo
Ashkenazi.

The aptitude of Rabbi Dov Berish as a scholar was recognized by the leading
rabbis of his generation, and therefore it was no wonder that he was appointed
as a member of the delegation of rabbis who participated in the historic debate
with the Frankists at the leadership meeting in Lvov from July 17 
September 10 1759. He did not participate from the beginning of the debate, but
rather joined the delegation of rabbis on July 20, after Rabbi David Pinchas of
Bohorodczany (Brotchin) was forced to vacate his place due to a dispute between
himself and the priest who was chairing the debate. Rabbi Dov Berish took his
place, and he played a very active role in the debate. He excelled in the
sharpness of his answers to the erudite questions of the Catholic priests and
the delegate of the Frankists Pesach Leib Krisa, especially in the debate of
July 23 1759 regarding Messianism[46].

Rabbi Dov Berish participated in efforts on behalf of the community even after
the debate. He was the head of the communal delegation that gathered together,
as has already been mentioned, on June 28, 1761 before the Archbishop
Szierakowski on June 12, 1745[14*] regarding the synagogue. Rabbi Dov Berish
died on the 12th of Tevet 5524 (1764)[47].

e)

The Rabbi and Gaon Reb Avraham, who was descended from the Gaon Rabbi
Yitzchak the Great, the head of the rabbinical court of Poznan.

f)

In 1770, Rabbi Yoel Katz, the head of the rabbinical court of Ottynia was
accepted as rabbi, however he drowned in a river as he was entering Stanislav.

g)

After him, Rabbi Yehuda Zelka was accepted. He is the author of the book
Revid Hazahav on Yoreh Deah until the end of the laws of salting[16*] (Lvov, 5561, 1801). He left the rabbinate in 1784, and in his place came:

h)

Rabbi Aryeh Leibish the son of Rabbi Eliezer Halevi Ish Horowitz the head of
the rabbinical court of Dzialoszyce, and the grandson of Rabbi Yitzchak
Hamburger. Reb Aryeh Leibish was accepted as rabbi in 1784, and served as the
rabbi of Stanislav until his death in 1844.

[Page 26]

With him commenced the dynasty of rabbis who occupied the rabbinical seat of
this community until 1939  a situation which was not found in any other
community[48]. Reb Aryeh Leibish, who was one of the Gaonim of his generation,
maintained a correspondence in matters of Jewish law with the greats of his
generation, such as the Rabbi and Gaon Reb Yaakov Meshulam Orenstein the rabbi
of Lvov, Rabbi Efraim Zalman Margolis of Brody, and Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kara of
Buchach the author of the Neta Shaashuim response book. During his
tenure, he exerted his influence on the community and did not permit Hassidism
to take root. Hassidism previously had not found a fruitful ground there. Even
though according to the opinion of Reb Nachman Kruchmal, Hassidism only
flourished in Galicia in the small towns and villages of the Jews of the
Carpathians, we cannot deny that in many cities, including Stanislav and its
region, Hassidic groups arose among the masses. These did not escape the eyes
of the Austrian police, who saw revolutionary activity in every movement. This
was especially so after the Austrian authorities began to follow after the
Rebbes, with the encouragement of the Maskilim, in particular the group from
Tarnopol led by Yosef Perel. In 1826, we find that Reb Mordechai of Janow, who
lived at the time in Tysmienica, had Hassidim also in Stanislav. Suspicions
caught up with him when the ruler of the Stanislav region made note in his
accounting of February 16, 1826 that the Rebbe Markus Janower
(Mordechai of Janow) was not found in Tysmienica, and books of Hassidism were
not found during the searches[49].
However, as time went on, Hassidism slowly
made inroads in the homes of the Jews of Stanislav, and succeeded also in
gaining souls from the family of the rabbi. The Hassidim of Zhidachov and
Rusily succeeded in particular there.

Rabbi Aryeh Leibish was generally a tolerant man, and he did not oppose the
groups of Maskilim that began to appear in the 1820s and start activities among
the youth, with the influence of the centers of the Galician Haskalah in Brody
and Tarnopol. During his rabbinate, Stanislav, which was a small community
dependent on the community of Tysmienica, became a major community and
developed as one of the largest communities in Galicia. During his time, great
scholars and rabbis lived in Stanislav. He left behind many manuscripts which
were printed only many years after his death, such as Pnei Aryeh
(Przemysl 1876), and the Responsa of Pnei Aryeh (Muncacz 1900)[50].

i)

The Rabbi and Gaon Reb Avraham, who was descended from the Gaon Rabbi
After him, in 1845, his third son Rabbi Meshulam Yissachar was appointed as
the rabbi of Stanislav. Between 1827 and 1842 he served as the rabbi in
Dzialoszyce, and in 1843 as the rabbi in Tysmienica. He ascended to the
rabbinate in Stanislav in 1845, and became one of the greatest rabbis of his
generation. He was among those rabbis who opposed Hassidism, especially the
rabbinical courts that began in that era to become involved in politics and
influenced their Hassidism to set political groups[51]. This stand of his came
to the fore particularly in the great congress of rabbis that convened in Lvov
in 1885.

[Page 27]

There, he came out strongly against the politicization of the Belz court and of
Machzikei Hadas, and especially strongly against the joint activity
with the authorities in internal communal matters. When it was suggested in
this congress to adapt the statutes in German, he spoke for presenting the book
of statues in Hebrew. After serving for 42 years as the rabbi in Stanislav, he
died at the age of 84 in 1887. He authored the three volume book Bar
Livai.

j)

His heir on the seat of the rabbinate was his son Rabbi Yitzchak Levi, who
served in the rabbinate from 1888 to 1904, and was one of the best preachers of
his day. He was also a fan of Zionism, and due to his liberal attitudes, he
agreed to lay the cornerstone of the Synagogue of the Enlightened Ones. He
himself came to the stone laying ceremony.

k)

After him, his only son Rabbi Aryeh Leibish was chosen. He was born in 1847
and was the rabbi of Dzialoszyce during his youth. After living for several
years in Seret Bukovina, he was appointed the rabbi of Stryj. After the death
of his father in 1904, he was invited to inherit his seat. He had Hassidic
inclinations, and was one of the supporters of the Rabbi of Chortkov. He
founded a Yeshiva in Stanislav, which became well-known as time went on. The
renowned scholar Rabbi Yekutiel Kamelhar stood at is helm. He also had a
notable fondness for Zionism, and was one of the few Orthodox rabbis of Galicia
who eulogized Dr. Herzl. He died in 1909.

l)

Since his two sons did not want to join the rabbinate, after a bitter
election struggle between two descendents of the Horowitz family, the grandson
of Rabbi Meshulam Yissachar[52], Rabbi David Halevi, was appointed. He
occupied the rabbinical seat from 1909 to 1934.

m)

Rabbi Moshe succeeded him. He was called from Vienna to come to Stanislav to
accept the rabbinate. He was the final rabbi of the community. He was murdered
during the time of the Nazi rule.

D.

The era in the history of the Jews of Galicia prior to the Austrian Revolution
in 1848 was marked by difficult struggles between the Orthodox and Hassidim on
one side, and the Maskilim on the other side.

The center of activity of the Maskilim was in the two centers of the Haskalah
in Galicia, Brody and Tarnopol, which was nicknamed The Athens of
Galicia. Despite the difficult battle between the Misnagdim and the
Maskilim, Hassidism, with its Tzadikim and Rebbes, began to make inroads during
this era, and to strengthen itself in many communities. It is no wonder that
the heads of the Haskalah, Yosef Perel, Ranak, Shir[17*], and Yitzchak Erter
fought with all sorts of literary ammunition and intercessions to the
government in order to save Galicia from the influence of the courts of the
Tzadikim.

Hassidism had not yet succeeded in striking roots in Stanislav, since its
rabbi, Rabbi Aryeh Leibish Horowitz was numbered among its chief opponents.

[Page 28]

However, slowly, the Haskalah began to spread there, even though it did not
generate any famous personalities. The Maskilim of Tysmienica had a great
influence upon the Maskilim of Stanislav. Strong bonds were formed between
them. However, in Stanislav there was not a strong Haskalah movement as there
was in Brody, Tarnopol and Lvov.

From the information that has reached us from those years, it is clear that the
Jewish population, even its upper classes who maintained contacts outside the
land due to their business endeavors, was not enthusiastic about the mottoes of
the Haskalah, and did not hasten to promote its development and spread by
founding schools, halls, or literary activities, as happened in Brody,
Tarnopol, or even Bolekhov and Jaroslaw. The role of Stanislav was not
recognizable in the battle for the spread of general culture that took place in
many communities during those years. It was almost as if there was no conflict
between the Orthodox and the supporters of the Haskalah. Furthermore, the
extremist views of the majority of Maskilim, who desired to modify the religion
and to change the way of Jewish life, could not be found in the circles of the
Maskilim of Stanislav. As well, there were no attempts to separate from the
synagogues and houses of prayer and to build a progressive synagogue with
German speaking preachers, as happened in Tarnopol in 1820 and even in Lvov in
1846. It is clear that the strong influence of Rabbi Horowitz was sufficient to
prevent any such attempt. From among the Maskilim of Stanislav, there arose no
writer who was so brazen as to raise his voice against belief in vanity and
religious extremism, such as Shlomo Rubin of Bolekhov. Not one of them called
out to oppress Hassidism, as did Rabbi Deutsch, the rabbi of the Sambor region.
The battle between the two extremes  which showered down with such
serious strength to the point of general and social bans of excommunication,
incitement of the masses, and slander to the authorities, such as happened in
Lvov, Brody and Tarnopol (1815)  was an unknown chapter in the history of
the Jews of Stanislav.

Not the same was the situation with regards to the economic development of the
city. In this area, Yoel Halpern, one of the greatest merchants, was especially
prominent during the 1830s. He also played an active role in communal life. He
established organizations and social institutions. In 1837, he left a large
bequest in his will (the income from two houses) for communal affairs, such as
the providing for brides, the feeding of the sick and poor in the hospital, the
maintenance of the study of religion, the support of poor army recruits who
were not able to find replacements, the distribution of meat to the poor on the
holidays of Passover and Sukkos, and many other benefits for the poor of the
city (for the text of the will, see the sources). His fortune was left to his
son Avraham and his daughter Roza, who was married to the wealthy man Rabbi
Alexander Horowitz, who was already known as a sharp opponent of Hassidism.

Avraham Halpern was an enterprising merchant, who contributed greatly to the
development of the city. He owned the monopoly for the salt trade in all of
Galicia, and was one of the organizers of trade between east and west Europe.
The salt trade with Russia was also centered in his control. He imported
various silk items in return for the salt, which he then sent to Western
Europe. He maintained large warehouses in Vienna for that purpose. Obviously he
also owned mills and estates. He established his own bank in order to arrange
the financial affairs of his multi-faceted businesses. He made a large
investment in the improvement of the city by setting up modern buildings,
including a theater and a hall for social and communal events.

[Page 29]

It is no wonder that he stood at the helm of the community. Despite his
orthodoxy, he supported the spread of Haskalah, by providing stipends for young
Jews who studied in university. He attempted to assist in any progressive
endeavor. His son-in-law Reb Alexander Horowitz, who maintained strong contacts
with the Maskilim of his generation, supported these activities. Avraham
Halpern, aside from concerning himself with the maintenance and growth of his
estate that he inherited from his father, himself also expanded the social
institutions by founding an orphanage, a soup kitchen and a bathhouse. He
expanded the hospital that was founded by his father. Due to his prominent
personality and industriousness, he also contributed toward the development of
the community. With him began the rule of his family and the Horowitz family
that lasted for decades. It reached the point that there were years when the
communal elections  such as in the year 1887  that the Halpern
faction had a complete victory, and out of 18 members of the communal council,
there were 3 Halpern brothers (Hirsch, Yoel, and Lipa, all sons of Avraham), 5
Horowitz family members, 2 relatives of the Horowitz family, and 1 son-in-law
of the Horowitz family.

Only a small group in the city was enthused by the mottoes of the Haskalah.
They went out against orthodoxy and, attempted in 1847 to establish a school
that was run in accordance with the winds of the times. They succeeded in
founding this institution under very difficult conditions, but they were forced
to liquidate it after a few years due to the lack of funds needed for its
maintenance. There was in Stanislav a group of Maskilim who attempted to fill
the role of teachers by providing private lessons in accordance with the spirit
of the times. Three years prior to the Spring of the Nations in
Austria, a Jewish club was established here called Verein für
literarisch politischen Fortschritt der Israeliten, which attracted the
Jewish intelligentsia. It was headed by Avraham Halpern, Leon Zaks and
Kristiampoler. When the Jews of Galicia felt that the Hapsburg monarchy was
preparing to enact changes in the spirit of liberalism, they began to concern
themselves with improving their political situation, and interceded with the
government to abolish the special Jewish taxes; the community of Stanislav also
joined this political activity. In 1847, the community of Stanislav sent a
letter of request to Kaiser Ferdinand I to abolish the Sabbath candle tax. The
writer described with emotional words the plight of the poor who were not able
to pay this tax: on more than one occasion, a poor person whose skin is
being flayed without mercy, is required to spend his Sabbath in darkness, with
tears, deep agony and also hunger, for he lacks sufficient money to spend the
coins, designated to provide dinner for his family, to the lessee for a permit
to light Sabbath candles, coins that he would have had to raise by begging. He
would often have to collect coins to satisfy the appetite of the lessee of the
taxes and prevent the seizure of his straw mattress and pillows. In the region
of Stanislav, which has a Jewish population of 26,759 people, they pay a candle
tax of 31,000 Florin, and each Jew, whether or not he has a family, is required
to give over approximately 9 Florin annually to the lessee of the tax. This sum
does not include the payments for candles for weddings, Chanukah candles,
memorial lights, Yom Kippur lights, etc. In this manner, the lessee of the
Stanislav region takes in three times the amount mentioned above, in accordance
with the number of souls. The result  as in all of Galicia  is that
the community enriches the lessees of the tax with its lifeblood.

[Page 30]

This is a yoke that is not found in Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and
Italy, but only in Galicia[53].

None of these intercessions bore fruit. Even with the revolution of March 13,
1848, which brought freedom the nations under Austria, the situation of the
Jews, whose spokesmen were demanding equal rights, did not change all at once.
The Jews were given the active and passive right to vote on April 18, 1848. The
constitution of April 25 granted freedom of religion and conscience (paragraph
17) and freedom of Jewish religious worship (paragraph 31), but did not solve
all of the problems associated with legal and civic restrictions upon the Jews.
These issues were pushed off until the meeting of parliament.

Strong political activity began in Galicia. The Jewish spokesmen presented
memos and petitions to the Galician Sejm that was called on April 28, 1848 but
never met. Four Jews were chosen to this Sejm: From Lvov Rachmiel Mizes and
Nathan Sokol, from Brody: Meir Kalir, and from Kolomyya Dr. Rosenhak. The rabbi
from Lvov, Dr. Avraham Cohen was included during the height of his tenure. In
lieu of this Sejm, a national council was established. The Jewish
representatives were Dr. Alexander Menkes, Avraham Mizes, and Meir Minc. In
order to weaken the activities of the national council, the governor of Galicia
Count (Graf) Stadion established an advisory council, which included Rabbi Dr.
Avraham Cohen and Rachmiel Mizes. In the interim, a movement began in all the
cities of Galicia to support the slogans of the Vienna revolution. Regiments of
the civilian guard were established, including Jewish divisions. The Jews were
the majority of the guard in Stanislav. Therefore, Avraham Halpern established
an independent Jewish division, headed by the Jewish captain Leon Zaks.

The first secretary of the Jewish club Dr. Hirschman lectured in the synagogue
on the occasion of the revolution and the coronation of Kaiser Franz Josef I.
This was a festive lecture[54] with a centralist slant, that inspired the Pole
Bohdan Zhenzianowskito turn to the Jews in a poem that requested them to join
the Poles, for the difference in religion will not stand as an obstacle along
the path, and the Jew will be a brother of the Pole, and this brotherhood will
sweeten the bitterness of the past, for the God whose realm was spread over the
Land of Israel also rules over the two nations  the Jews and the Poles
 who suffered together. Therefore, they are required, once freedom
arrives, to unite in order to found a free Poland. The Polish newspaper
Dziennik Stanislavski, which was founded in those days, also wrote
in that spirit. However, only very small portion of the Jewish intelligentsia
supported the nationalistic Polish movement; those educated in the Haskalah and
the upper class householders only placed their trust in Vienna and supported
the centralist direction. Therefore, they tended towards the German language
and culture.

[Page 31]

At the time of elections to the Austrian parliament, the Jews of Stanislav, who
were the majority, elected a Jewish representative who was one of their own.
This was not like the Jews of Brody who elected the rabbi from Vienna Noach
Manheimer in order to demonstrate their German-ness and their leanings toward
the Jews of the west  a situation that elicited a sharp reaction from the
Poles and also from a segment of the Jewish population of Brody. However,
voices were heard from among the Jewish intelligentsia in Stanislav who were in
favor of going after the Poles. They recommended voting for a Christian
candidate, however due to disputes among the Citizen's Party and various
intrigues, and also due to the sharp opposition of the Orthodox for any
non-Jewish candidate[55], the intelligentsia had no other option other than to
compromise with the Orthodox and to support the candidacy of Avraham Halpern,
about whom we have already mentioned that his Orthodoxy did not prevent him
from understanding the desires of the progressives and Maskilim. The Christians
became angry and stormy, but since there were only 15 Christian electors for
the first ballot as opposed to 27 Jews, the election was decided in favor of
Avraham Halpern, who was elected as the representative to parliament with all
of the Jewish votes. The Poles, who fumed prior to the elections, doubled in
their wrath after the elections and did not cease to declare that the election
of Halpern was not in accordance with the law. A group of them founded a club
that presented a complaint against the elections to Vienna, and even issued a
declaration to all the Christians in Stanislav suggesting that they cut of all
contact with the Jews, and not purchase anything from them[56]. All of these
efforts were intended to force Avraham Halpern to resign from his office, but
he did not listen to them. Just the opposite, on June 18, he traveled to Vienna
to participate in the sitting of parliament. However, he took ill along the way
and asked the leadership of parliament to grant him an extended leave, for he
was not able to be present in parliament either in Vienna or Kremsier. He did
not forego his mandate despite his illness; however in December 1848, when he
requested an extension of his leave, the parliament refused, and informed him
that his mandate had expired. His dismissal from parliament came about due to
the intrigues of the Polish representatives who were not satisfied with his
election, because he was considered by them to be a Schwarzgelber, that is to
say yellow-black (named for the colors of the Austrian flag), meaning a
supporter of the government. The recommendation to dismiss him came from the
Polish representative Antoniwicz, who turned with this matter to the president
of the Polish parliament Franciszek Smolka. He was the one who exerted pressure
to deny an extension of Avraham Halpern's leave, with the intention of removing
him from parliament. After Halpern's period expired, Smolka turned to the
Interior Ministry with a request to declare new elections for Stanislav[57].

The constitution of April 1848 did not bring the hoped for change in rights for
the Jews, and did not solve the Jewish question, as the spokesmen for the
Jewish intelligentsia had hoped it would. Jewish matters were indeed organized,
but in a different manner in each state of the crown. The Jews of Galicia were
interested in the repeal of the two taxes that were difficult and repugnant to
them: the kosher meat tax dating from September 17, 1784, and the candle tax
dating from November 11, 1794.

The inscription on his grave is as follows: 12 Tevet 5524 / his voice was
requested in the heavenly court / he went upon / the four corners / of the
land, the land / quaked during the day / the sun set at none / a great prince
fell / Our teacher and rabbi  The rabbi, the light of the exile,[15*] /
Dov Ber of blessed memory / the son of our teacher Yaakov Avraham / may his
soul be bound in the bonds of eternal life (published in the above mentioned
work of Reuven Fahen in East and West, Volume V, page 265. In the
census that took place in 1765, Rabbi Aharon Wigodorowicz (the son of Avigdor)
was mentioned as the rabbi of Stanislav. Dr. Majer Balaban: Aspis Zydow I
Karaitow Ziemr Halickiej. Krakow 1909 s. 4. Apparently he was not the rabbi but
rather a judge; we cannot identify him in the material that we have
available. Return

The Misnagdim in Stanislav would come to the new Beis Midrash that was founded
by the well-known scholar and benefactor Alexander Horowitz, who opposed
strongly and hated Hassidism in its essence. See the memoirs of Dr. Shimon
Bernfeld in Reshimot, volume IV, page 154. Return

A reference to an edition of the Mishnah or Talmud, both of which have Six
Orders (i.e. sections). Return

[14*]

The two dates here seem to be redundant. Comparing with the
previous citation of this incident, the first date is apparently correct. Return

[15*]

Other laudatory abbreviations appear here which I cannot make out. Return

[16*]

Yoreh Deah is one of the four sections of the Code of Jewish Law
(Shulchan Aruch), which deals with, among other things, the laws of
Kashruth. The laws of salting would be the laws of how meat must
be salted in order to draw out the blood before it is rendered usable by Jewish
law. Return

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